The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo wants its beloved snake Tickles back.

The 1.5-metre royal python was discovered missing from his tank on Saturday and is believed to have been stolen.

Zoo staff say they're hoping the snake will be returned soon.

Zoo-goers including June Verhelst and her two boys were disappointed to see Tickles's tank empty.

"That's the first thing they come to see and the thing they talk about when they're away from the zoo," Verhelst said about her sons.

Zoo staff noticed Saturday afternoon that a mesh wire window on top of the snake's tank had been pried open and it was missing.

Cathy Bartsch, who works at the zoo, used to show Tickles to children, and let them hold and touch him so they could learn about snakes. Tickles was the only snake there that the public was allowed to handle.

"He will be missed and the kids will be learning a little about human behaviour, not just animal behaviour, this week," Bartsch said. "We will do our best to give them an experience, but that portion will be missing."

While Tickles is not venomous and is used to being handled by people, zoo staff caution anyone who might find the snake that it might be unpredictable because it's not in its regular home.